


Eyes Forward

by Kibs



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 23:10:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9520124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kibs/pseuds/Kibs
Summary: Short post-season 2 finale drabble. Hera tries to comfort Kanan after returning from the Sith Temple.





	

The sand glowed red that night, a descending auburn color that Kanan was trying to imagine. He felt the warm hit his face, the glow, and pictured the colors that Hera described. Nothing came close- wasn’t the same.

He let out a slow breath, and held it at the end, refusing to take another for a few long heartbeats. It had been a week since returning from the Sith Temple. The rebels had sent over doctors and medics, but their responses were varying degrees of the same response- the one he’d accepted already as truth.  
He slowly touched the bandages around his face, slid a careful finger under them. Hot scar tissue scratched against his finger pads, his sore eyes inflamed and swollen days later. Lightsaber burns were painful. They healed quickly, but stung for a long time. 

“There you are,” came Hera’s voice. 

He hadn’t noticed her footsteps, he chided. 

Her voice remained at a distance. “Sorry, did I-”

“You’re fine,” Kanan hurried to reply, turning his head a little towards the sound. 

“What are you doing out here? The doctor suggests you rest a while longer.” 

Kanan shook his head. “I can’t,” he sighed. “I needed fresh air.” 

“I understand,” she said, sitting beside him. “Are you in any more pain?” Her voice was steady, but concerned. She was trying not try pry, but needed to know. 

He felt the sand shift as she settled next to him, and imagined her legs bent, maybe one outstretched. “…No,” Kanan decided to tell her. And her silence was enough to remind him that she knew when he was lying. No point using mind tricks on her. “How’s Ezra?” he asked, wanting to shift the conversation away from himself. 

She inhaled slowly. “He’s getting by. He feels guilty though. Hasn’t come out much.” 

Kanan sighed, again. “I won’t be much help to him the way I am now…I can’t-…” Can't what? See? His old Master would be disappointed in how quickly he'd rolled over to his blindness. Kanan had tried to think of what she would say- of course she would be wiser, but every time, her face appeared in a slow shake of her head. No reassuring words, just more shame in the pathetic excuse for a Jedi she'd saved. What a waste. She should have saved herself instead. 

Hera rested her hand gently on his knee, grounding him. "You'll adjust. Just give it time. You need to take care of yourself first.” 

He laughed a bit. “Great. That’s what I’m worst at.” 

Her hand moved from his knee to his face, and her fingers scratched through the stubble on his face. “Growing a beard, dear?” 

“Well, what do you think? How do I look?” he tried a smile.

Damn, he wished he could have seen her. Someone that didn't bring him guilt.

Her hand steadied on his cheek, fingertips touching the edge of the bandages. Then, slowly underneath. They came loose and caught in her hand.  
Kanan felt the wind touch his exposed face, colder, and tried opening his eyes. They stuck at first, then released and parted. He blinked a few times, and the brief disappointment vanished. Hera watched his eyes, glazed over and hued yellow, stare gazelessly. They would never see her again. “Handsome as always, love…” she whispered.


End file.
